Introduction: Too Close to Where We Got In
A mother tucked her little boy in bed. She kissed him goodnight, pulled up the covers, and went downstairs.
Not long after, she heard a loud thump and then crying. She hurried upstairs and found him on the floor.
“What happened?” she asked.
Through tears he answered, “I fell out of bed.”
“Well, how did that happen?”
He sniffled and said, “I guess I stayed too near to where I got in.”
Now friends, isn’t that the story of many Christians? We come to Jesus, we begin well, we have that first joy and excitement—but we stay too close to where we got in. We never grow. We never move deeper. And so we fall.
So let me ask you a personal question: How different is your walk with the Lord today than the day you first believed?
Do you love Him more now? Is your joy stronger, your peace deeper, your walk more secure? Or … are you still teetering near the edge of the bed?
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Section 1: Easier to Start Than to Stay
I once asked a group of married couples a simple question:
“Which is easier—to get married or to stay married?”
Almost every couple laughed. And they said the same thing: “It’s easier to get married!”
And then I asked, “Do you love your spouse more now than you did on the wedding day?”
And again, almost every couple said, “Oh, much more now!”
Now here comes the zinger. If you loved each other at the start, and your love is greater now than ever before—why is it harder to stay married than it was to get married?
That’s usually when the room goes quiet.
And it’s the same spiritually.
Which is easier—to become a Christian, or to stay a Christian?
Do you love Jesus more now than when you first gave Him your heart?
If His love for you is the same yesterday, today, and forever … and if your love for Him is greater than when you started … then why is it harder to stay?
It’s not that Jesus has changed. It’s not that His grace has worn thin. The problem is that we drift. We grow comfortable. We get complacent. We stay too near to where we got in.
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Section 2: When the Soul Is Downcast
Psalm 42 says it twice:
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him.”
That’s the cry of a discouraged believer. The psalmist was weighed down, troubled, attacked by enemies, discouraged in spirit.
And haven’t we been there? Sleepless nights, worry in the pit of your stomach, feeling like God is far away?
But notice: the psalmist doesn’t talk to God here—he talks to himself. He preaches to his own heart:
“Why are you cast down, soul? Why are you discouraged? Don’t forget God. Don’t forget His promises. Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him!”
That’s what discouragement is, brothers and sisters—it’s forgetting God. It’s unbelief. It’s listening to the enemy instead of standing on God’s promises.
A discouraged Christian is poor advertising for the Gospel. Because if we say Jesus saves, if we say God provides, if we say His peace passes understanding, then why do we live as if He doesn’t?
Now don’t misunderstand—believers do get discouraged. But we don’t have to stay there. The cure for discouragement is to remind ourselves: Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him.
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Section 3: A Cold Church and a Fiery Saint
Let me tell you about a little gray-haired saint who moved to town. She loved Jesus with all her heart, but she didn’t know what kind of church she had wandered into.
It was a modern church—everything done decently, in order, predictably, and … (pause) … cold.
The service was routine. Hymns were mumbled, prayers were formal, saints were dozing. The preacher droned on and on.
But this little saint, she wasn’t used to cold religion. Somewhere in that sermon, the preacher said something that blessed her heart, and she couldn’t hold it in.
She shouted: “Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus!”
The saints sat bolt upright. The preacher lost his place. The whole service went into shock.
Well, she came back the next week. Same thing happened.
Finally, the church board called a meeting. “Pastor, we’ve got to stop this woman. She’s ruining our services!”
The pastor said, “Don’t worry. Next week I’ll preach a sermon so dull, so dreary, so hopeless, she won’t find anything to shout about.”
So the next Sunday, he explained away every miracle in the Bible. He said the Red Sea wasn’t really a sea, just a marsh. The Israelites crossed in ankle-deep water.
At that, the little lady jumped up and shouted: “Hallelujah! Glory to God! He drowned the whole Egyptian army in just eight inches of water!”
Friends, sometimes it’s easier to just believe the Word of God than to explain it away.
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Section 4: Joy as Our Strength
Paul writes in Philippians 4:4–7:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Now remember: Paul wrote those words from prison. Not from a beach vacation. Not from a comfortable armchair. From a cell. And yet he says: Rejoice always.
Joy is not an option for the Christian. Joy is a command. Joy is a weapon. Joy is proof of faith.
The Bible says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).
If Satan can rob your joy, he has weakened your faith. But if you hold on to joy—if you can rejoice in the Lord when nothing makes sense—that is the surest evidence that your life is anchored in Christ.
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Section 5: The Wild Duck in the Barnyard
Søren Kierkegaard told the story of the wild duck. One spring, the duck landed in a barnyard. The food was easy, the company was pleasant, so he stayed.
He told himself he’d fly north later. But by autumn, he had grown fat and lazy. When his wild friends flew overhead, he tried to rise—but he could not fly higher than the barn roof.
By the next season, he didn’t even try. Eventually, he didn’t even notice when the flock passed overhead. He was content with barnyard corn, though he was made for the skies.
And that’s the danger for us. We were created to soar in God’s Spirit. But if we grow too comfortable with the barnyard pleasures of this world, soon the higher call doesn’t even stir us anymore.
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Conclusion:
So where are you today?
Are you still near the edge of the bed?
Are you cast down, forgetting God’s promises?
Have you settled for the barnyard when you were made to fly?
The psalmist said, “Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him.”
Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always.”
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Friend, joy is not just an emotion. Joy is your strength. Joy is your testimony. Joy is your birthright in Christ.
So today—don’t stay near where you got in. Grow deeper. Rise higher. Rejoice always. For the joy of the Lord will carry you through.
